Internal combustion engine valve



Patented I Mar. 14, 1939 INTERNAL COMBUSTION ENGINE VALVE Enrique G. Touceda, Albany, N. Y., assignor to Consolidated Car-Heating Company, Inc., Albany, N. Y., a corporation of New York No Drawing.

. 4 Claims. My invention relates to improvements in'valves for internal combustion engines and particularly in exhaust valves, valve seats, valve seat inserts and similar elements which are exposed when in 6 use to the corrosive effects of the exhaust gases from internal combustion engines.

Valves for the most part have heretofore been forged or cast practically exclusively from steel alloys, principally because such compositions have 10 been developed which have had the desired strength, hardness and toughness at valve operating temperatures, the desired workability for manufacture into valves, a fairly high degree of resistance to scaling and hot oxidation, and which have not been too high in cost.

With the advent of the anti-knock gasolines and the development of higher compression ratios in enginesdesigned to use such gasolines as fuel has come the demand for better valves, and

particularly in aircraft engines better valves would be acceptable to the industry substantially irrespective of the cost.

It has heretofore been proposed to use nickelchrome alloys of the nichrome type for internal combustion engine valves because of their extremely high resistance to corrosion, and valves, having head portions of such alloys welded to steel stems, have been tried and abandoned largely because of their inherent lack of strength at valve operating temperatures. 7

Chrome-nickel base alloys, and particularly those containing chromium from about 5% to 30% and nickel from 70% to about 90% are extremely resistant to corrosion and hot oxidation and possess many other characteristics admirably adapting them for valves. Nevertheless, these alloys are not acceptable for use in valves in modern type high-compression engines using anti-knock fuels because of the fact that they soften at high temperatures.

I find, however, by incorporating in the base chrome-nickel alloys described above from 0.05% to 2.5% by weight of beryllium that the hardness and strength of the alloy at valve operating temperatures is increased to the extent that very superior valves may be formed therefrom either by forging or casting.

The specific gravity of beryllium is very low and hence small proportions by weight constitute Application March 6, 1937, Serial N0. 129,475

relatively large proportions by volume of the composition.

The outstanding effect of the beryllium additions on the alloy where used for forged valves is a very substantial increase in the yield pointi of the composition as well as the strength at high temperatures.

Where the composition is used for cast valves. the effect of the beryllium addition is particularly marked in the remarkably-clean surface of the 10 valve in the as cast condition. Furthermore,

' the beryllium addition somewhat lowers the melting point of the composition and very greatly increases the fluidity of the metal when molten so that smooth, clean, homogeneous castings having l attenuated sections may be readily made therefrom.

What I claim is:

1. An internal combustion'engine valve formed from an alloy containing chromium from 5% to 10 30%, nickel from to 90% and beryllium from 0.05% to 2.5%; said valve having a substantially higher yield point and substantially greater strength at valve operating temperatures than it would otherwise have without the beryllium. 25

2. An internal combustion engine valve formed from an alloy containing chromium from 15% to 25%, nickel from to and beryllium from 0.05% to 0.5% said valve having a substantially higher yield point and substantially greater 30 strength at valve operating temperatures than it would otherwise have without the beryllium.

3. A cast internal combustion engine valve formed from an alloy containing chromium from 5% to 30%, nickel from 70% to and beryl- 35 lium from 0.05% to 2.5%; said valve having a substantially higher yield point and substantially greater strength at valve operating temperatures than it would otherwise have without the beryllium. 40

4. A cast internal combustion engine valve formed from an alloy containing chromium from 15% to 25%, nickel from 75% to 85%, and beryllium from 0.05% to 2.5%; said valve having a substantially higher yield point and substantially 5 greater strength at valve operating'temperatures than it wouldotherwise have without the beryllium.

ENRIQUE G. TOUCEDA.

CERTIFICATE OF CORRECTION. Patent no, 2,150,255. March 1t, 19 9.

ENRIQUE c. TOUCEDA.

It is hereby certified that error appears in the printed specification of the above mmbered patent requiring correction as foliowz s: Page 1 second column, line 29, for "to 0;5%" read to 2.5%; and that the said Letters Patent shouldbe read with this correction therein that the same may conform to the record of the case inthe Patent Office.

Signed and s aled this 25th day of April, A. I 1959.

Henry Van Arsdale (Seel) Acting Commi seioner of Patents. 

